Confessions from a bottle
by Anti85
Summary: homebrew makes her clothes fall off. my first story.
1. Chapter 1

my first fic ever... haven't really read trough this, i'm just trying to put everything i have on here. let me know if there's problems with the formatting or something.

PART 1

"Claire!"

Tess was yelling at the top of her lungs, but there was no answer.

"She can't possibly still be in bed at this hour" Tess muttered to herself, as she headed for the stairs.

When she reached the top of the stairs she heard a hoarse, grumpy voice answering, "What?"

Tess opened the door,

"Claire, it's nine am! Oh god, you look like hell, but according to the number of empty bottles on the veranda I'm pretty sure I know why…Funny, I never pictured you as the type that would sleep in the nude, but then again…"

Claire just moaned, "Shut up, Tess"

Tess's chin dropped to the floor, and her eyes looked as though they were about to pop out of her head.

"Man, that was effective", Claire thought to herself. Then she realized that Tess was staring at something.

The bed started to move under her, and slowly, trying not to disturb her hangover too much, she turned her head towards the big, groggy thing beside her. Her expression turned into shock, but she quickly gathered herself, pulling the sheets around her and jumped out of bed. The horrified look on her face suddenly turned into one of nausea, and she quickly covered her mouth and bolted for the bathroom.

Alex slowly opened his eyes, woken up by the people in the room. Then he noticed Tess in the doorway, still gobsmacked, but starting to find the whole situation kind of amusing.

"If you're there, then I must still be at Drovers", Alex stated matter-of-factly. Then he looked around the room, his eyes landing on the empty space beside him in bed.

"Where's Claire?" he asked, still groggy from sleeping, and pretty hungover, as well.

"She's vomiting." Tess answered, before slowly turning around, closing the door behind her.

She stopped right outside the door, leaning against the wall, it was pretty clear that her mind was doing overtime, thinking how the hell she could have missed this thing between Claire and Alex.

PART 2

Claire ran through the kitchen without even saying hello to Meg, and headed straight for the stables. She saddled up quickly, and took off.

15 minutes later, Alex entered the kitchen, holding his head, and went straight for a big glass of water, which he downed in two gulps and then refilled before taking a seat at the table. He was still sitting at the table holding his head with both hands when Meg came from the laundry room, carrying a big load of clean clothes. She dumped the basket on the floor, causing Alex's head to explode, and he squealed in pain.

"Homebrew worked fine, I see?" Meg said, more a statement than a question.

"Can you get me an aspirin?"

Meg just shot him a look saying 'I'm not your mother, and you got yourself into this mess, so why should I?'

"Please?" Alex tried his best puppy-face, but it didn't really work.

"Ok, I guess you won't be much use around here before you get some drugs anyway, so

I'll go see what I can find…" Meg picked up the basket again and headed for the door, but just before she reached it she turned around, facing Alex again.

"By the way, do you know why Claire was in such a hurry? She practically shot out of here without having breakfast, and I don't think that's ever happened before. But then again she overslept, and I can't remember the last time she did that either. Must have been some powerful brew you two had last night?" She started walking again

"Well, I'll go look for that Aspirin for you, have to get you human again so that you can work…"

"You can say that again", Alex muttered to himself with a cheeky grin. "Pretty powerful…"

''

Claire didn't care about direction or meaning, she just rode, enjoying the horse working under her, the soothing rhythm of the gallop. Feeling every single movement, as the horses muscles brought her forward. The wind in her face, brushing the nausea away.

_Sometimes she wondered why these amazing animals would let her ride them, and tell them what to do. Ten times her size they could easily do exactly what they wanted, and still they didn't…_

It wasn't until she glanced sideways she realized how fast she was going, and she took the horse down to a slow canter instead.

She finally pulled her horse into a halt. Leaning down resting her head on the horse she whispered into the mane.

"How could I have been so stupid? How the hell did that happen? How did I let this happen? Or better yet, _why_ did I let this happen? It's not like I feel that way about him…He's my best mate for heavens sake, now I can never face him again. I'm sure he doesn't fancy me either, I know he'll sleep with anybody with breasts, but still… I can't loose my best mate over something like this…" she paused, snuggling her face deeper into the mane when the unfamiliar feeling of a tear rolling down her face made her get her act together. She quickly lifted her head.

"Jeez, McLeod, get a grip!" she said to herself, a lot louder than she planned. She realized how far out she was, and decided that she could at least do something useful when she already had wasted half the day on this nonsense.

She got the horse into a quick trot, heading for the boundary fence, which she knew she hadn't checked in a while.

_Why did Alex have to bring over that bloody homebrew_, she thought to herself, as she felt the nausea slowly working it's way back into her body, reminding her of why she'd run out without breakfast that morning.

Riding the fences her mind kept wandering back to the night before.

"What did really happen?" she asked herself. Her memory was a complete blur, but she did remember Alex saying something about loving her more than his chopper. But she couldn't remember what happened after that.

"OK, Alex was in my bed." She said to the horse.

"But that does not mean that something happened, right?"

"After all, if we were both too drunk to remember this, the chances for us being far too drunk to do anything is pretty likely, right? After all, alcohol affects more than just your judgment, right?"

"Well at least your not telling me I'm wrong", she sighed, realizing that her horse probably wasn't the best to give advice.

"Shit!" a thought struck her like a hammer in the head.

"What if Alex wasn't as drunk as I was? What if something really happened and he remembers and I don't? Oh god... I can never face him again!

PART 3

Alex was confused. First he wakes up in Claire's bed, feeling like shit, but strangely satisfied too. Then Claire just runs out of the room and vomits. Did she really find him that repulsive when she was sober? But she didn't seem that drunk the night before either. Not as drunk as he was himself. But thinking about it he couldn't really remember a single time he'd seen Claire really drunk, even though he'd seen her drink most men under the table several times. But that's Claire for you, never show emotions, never loose your grip, never let anyone see your weaknesses, never accept any help from others.

"Man, that woman needs to loosen up!" Alex almost jumped off the chair by the sound of his own voice, it felt like someone fired a gun inside his head. "But she seemed pretty loose last night, with the bathtub and all…" Alex' mind drifted off to the night before…

"_The windmill's stuffed again, have to get Becky to fix it in the morning." Claire was starting to slur her words a little._

"_What's wrong, McLeod? You too scared to climb a windmill?" Alex was amused, no matter what she was doing, her mind was always on the farm_

"_Get out! You're the one who's too scared to climb!"_

"_No way! As far as I can remember I always beat you up there by a minute!"_

"_Ok, you and me, up the windmill, right now."_

"_Oh, come on Claire, I'd rather sit here and figure out which beer is better"_

"_Scared I'll beat you?"_

"_No bloody way!" _

"_Let's go then! A slab of the usual that I'm faster than you!"_

"_You're on!"_

"_Ok, I'll race you up there!" _

--

Alex was just hanging around drovers, waiting for Claire to return, not getting any work done. He's brushed down the horse, and saddled him up, ready for training, but he didn't want to start without Claire. After all, the jumping was mainly her problem, no the horse's, so there wouldn't really be any point in him taking the horse over the jumps himself. As the hours passed, the horse started to get really restless, and Alex felt for him, he too was tired of waiting for something that didn't seem to happen. As it got closer and closer to lunch time he felt himself getting more and more annoyed with Claire. Finally he put the horse back in the stable, and went to look for her it was now pretty clear to him that she was avoiding him. And that made him angry. Ok, she didn't want to face him, so he guessed he did something pretty horrible to her the night before, but she shouldn't take that out on the horse. It wasn't like Claire either, she would always put the horse first, no matter what happened. She must be really upset to not train the horse, it can't be just that she's scared of the jumping, Alex' thought to himself.

He went in and had lunch with the girls. When they finished and Claire still hadn't showed up, he decided to go into the study to catch up on the books for the horse training. He wasn't sure if Claire liked him being in the study alone, but that's where she kept the books, and right now he was so annoyed with her that he really didn't care what she thought.

It was almost dinnertime when Claire came home, and she was starving. After taking care of the horse, she headed towards the house, thinking about how to avoid Tess. When she saw Alex' ute outside the house she quickly turned and hurried back into the stables.

She couldn't face him right now, not knowing what happened the night before. And she definitely didn't want to face Tess, knowing she would have something to say about the whole thing, after all, when does that woman ever shut up? Hiding in the stables she started another conversation with her horse.

" How am I going to face the others? I guess Tess must have told them, and even if she didn't Meg must have picked up on something, that woman knows everything even if she's not told… Nah, Tess wouldn't say anything before she talked to me, right? "Claire let out a big sigh,

"Who am I kidding? Tess got the biggest mouth in the country, she would definitely say something even if she didn't mean to… and Alex is still there, I'm sure someone must have picked up on something, Becky will know, she picks up even more than Meg does, but she won't say anything, and Jodi won't notice… but Meg will definitely notice…

What am I going to do about Alex? what am I going to say? I know he doesn't love me like that, I and don't love him either, I think… oh, god, did I just say that?

Of course I don't love him like that! But why is he still there? He has no reason to stay, except for Megs cooking, and the horse training business, which is me… I can't believe he's staying to talk to me… or actually I can, if he woke up in my bed I guess he wants to talk about it, and I guess we should, but I don't know what to say…" She was interrupted by a grumbling sound in her stomach.

"Geez, I'm starving!"

Meg and Becky was staring out of the kitchen window looking for Claire, it was definitely unlike her to miss a meal. Finally they saw her emerge from the stables, strolling towards the house at a pretty decent pace, then suddenly turning around on her heels, heading towards the stables again.

"What was that?" Meg said.

"She probably just forgot something" Becky had seen the look on Claire's face, and she immediately connected it to Alex' ute, still parked in front of the house.

"Did you see the look on her face?" Meg answered.

"That was not the face of someone who forgot something. I wonder what's going on? She's been gone all day without saying a word to anyone. Do you think it has something to do with Alex? He's been lurking around here all day without actually doing anything useful…"

"I think we should eat" Becky said." Meg shot her a funny look, but then she nodded in agreement.

"Lets get dinner on the table then. I guess Alex is starving, he's been eating like a woman on a diet today…"

--

"Where's Claire? I don't think I've ever seen her miss a meal before", Jodi was getting curious, they were all seated at the table, but noone was speaking, and Alex was just picking his food. Tess, on the other hand, was eating like Claire, but she had this tiny little smile on her face that just wouldn't go away.

"Tess, what's up? You can tell us, you know, it must be good news, since you're smiling like that?"

Tess didn't answer, she just kept stuffing food in her mouth, desperately trying to keep her mouth occupied not to spill the news. She was pretty sure that neither Claire nor Alex would appreciate her telling the other women about what happened that morning, at least not before they had sorted things out.

"No one ever tells me anything!"

Jodi was getting both impatient and annoyed, she had a feeling she wouldn't get anything out of Tess at the moment.

Becky loaded her plate for the second time, this time she put a small mountain of food on her plate.

"Think I'll have this in my room", she said as she stood up. Meg threw her a curious look, but then she realized what Becky was up to.

"Ok, see you tomorrow then."

Becky carried her plate straight to the stables, knowing very well that Claire was hiding there, but she couldn't figure out why. "Only one way to find out", she thought to herself, as she entered the stable, finding Claire sitting on a hayball, completely lost in her own thoughts.

"Hungry?" Becky spoke in a soft voice, but still startling Claire. She jumped straight up, almost loosing her balance, dizzy from the lack of food.

"You have no idea!" Claire said thankfully as Becky handed her the plate.

"I guess you're wondering why I'm hiding out here?" she said, as she stuffed food into her mouth.

"Well, it's obviously something to do with Alex, but it's none of my business, I just figured you'd be starving." Becky said as she turned around to leave.

"Keep me company while I'm eating? After all I've been gone all day, have to know what you lot have done to this place…" Claire was desperate to get Alex out of her head, and what was better to talk about than work?

"Sure", Becky said, and sat down on the hay next to Claire.

Becky talked about the work they'd done that day, while Claire shuffled food into her mouth.

When she finally finished, she confessed to Becky.

"That homebrew Alex brought over last night was pretty strong… I really don't want to face him today, some things that shouldn't have been said, was said…"

"OK, sure, whatever." Becky knew that Claire wouldn't say more unless she wanted to.

"You'll probably figure it out, no matter what it is. You two have had lots of fights over the years, you've gotten through them before."

"This time I'm not so sure…" Claire's voice trailed off, she suddenly sounded like an insecure child, instead of her usual bossy self.

Part 5

When Claire finished her dinner, Becky went back to her quarters, leaving Claire alone with her thoughts.

"Why is he still here?" she asked Roy. "Why can't he take a bloody hint?"

After dinner Alex sat down on the veranda with a beer in his hand. Not a homebrew this time, he'd had enough of that last night…

_When Alex reached the windmill Claire was just standing there, with her hands on her hips, measuring the windmill up and down with her eyes. Alex put his foot on the first step of the ladder, still with a beer in his hand. The second he raised the other foot off the ground he slipped, and fell flat on his pride._

_With an embarassed look on his face he looked up at Claire. "Maybe I'm a bit too drunk for this?"_

"_Yeah, I'd say so!" Claire could barely speak from laughing so hard, and she decided to sit down on the edge of the bathtub, shaking with laughter._

"_Come on, Claire, it wasn't that funny!"_

"_Yeah, it was! It was bloody hilarious…"_

_Alex looked a bit hurt, but he quickly gathered his legs under him and got up. As he went to sit down next to Claire, he accidently knocked her over and into the bathtub._

"_Alex!" she gasped from the shock of the cold water in the bottom of the tub._

"_I'm so sorry Claire, are you ok?"_

_He was standing over her with a worried look on his face, and that sent Claire into a new fit of laughter._

"_You could at least give me your hand and help me out of here." Claire said when she finally calmed down a bit. "I'm soaked!" _

_Alex reached out and helped Claire out of the tub, but the minute she found her balance she pushed Alex in, and turned on the tap._

"_That's for pushing me in!" she said through a new fit of uncontrollable laughter._

Halfway down the bottle Alex decided to go look for Claire. The beer didn't taste right, and he had a feeling she was hiding somewhere on the property, she always came back before it got dark. He finally found her in the stable with Eagle.

"There you are!" Alex sounded a lot angrier than he meant to, but he was pretty annoyed with Claire. "You're avoiding me! I can understand if you don't want to talk to me, but what about the training? The show is only a few days away, and you take off for the whole day! You need to train that horse, otherwise that knob will win! Our business depends on this! It seems to me like you don't want to win, but I certainly don't want to lose my whole business just because you can't separate business and pleasure! We just lost a full day of training…"

His voice trailed off when he saw Claire's face. She was starting to get pretty angry.

"I don't have any trouble separating business and pleasure! It's only when business is sleeping in my bed in the morning it's starting to get difficult! Especially when I have no idea if it was pleasure!" Claire was yelling at the top of her lungs now, how dared he accuse her of not wanting to win the show?

Alex looked like he was about to have smoke coming out of his ears when he suddenly spun around and left. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, we have to train that horse, let's just hope you won't be so bloody stubborn then!" He yelled as he got in his ute.

Claire just stood there looking at his ute as he left.

"One minute he tells me he loves me, next he's yelling at me. What am I supposed to think?" She looked down at Roy who had sat down at her feet, looking up at her as if to ask "What's wrong?"

"Men!" she muttered to herself as she walked into the house, trying to figure out how to avoid Tess. She hoped she'd gone to Wilgul.

PART 6

When Claire entered the house it was silent. It seemed that everyone had left to their own places, and Claire was thankful. She didn't want to explain anything, she just wanted a shower and her bed. But she knew there were some paperwork to take care of as well.

Claire stepped out of the shower and put on her PJ's. She assumed Tess was at Wilgul with Nick, they seemed to be pretty serious about each other. She wondered how the dinner with the Ryan's had turned out. But she wasn't ready to talk to Tess yet, so she would just have to wait to find out. When she opened the door Tess jumped on her:

"Where have you been all day? Alex has been driving me crazy! What the hell happened with you two last night? And why won't you talk to him? I thought you said you two were only mates?" Tess had to stop her questioning to catch her breath, and Claire took the opportunity to answer.

"I don't want to talk about it. End of story. Where's Nick, by the way?" Claire practically ran into her room and closed the door in Tess' face.

Tess looked at the closed door in surprise, but her mind quickly went back to all her questions. She knocked on the door. "Claire?" she used her innocent little girly voice.

"Rack off, Tess!" Claire didn't sound as mad as she wanted too, but she could just picture Tess on the other side of the door, and she could swear Tess was pulling bambi eyes even though no one could see her. "I said I don't want to talk about it!"

"Claire!" Tess was starting to get annoyed. "Why won't you tell me what happened? I walk in and Alex is in your bed, and then you just take off for the entire day. Leaving us here with the work. Not to mention Alex who's been hanging around all day, grumpy as hell and completely useless. I was supposed to go to Wilgul to finish the wheat today, but with you out I had to stay here drenching!"

"Sorry!" Claire didn't sound like she meant it, but she would do anything to make Tess go away. "Maybe I'll tell you tomorrow. Good night, Tess"

"Come on Claire, tell me now!"

"Good night Tess!"

Tess decided not to push Claire anymore at the moment, she was sure she'd get the opportunity another time.

Claire heard Tess leaving and was happy that she'd avoided talking for now. She just had to figure out things for herself before Tess started asking questions. And then there were the Alex situation. She knew she couldn't avoid him for long, after all they had a horse to train, and she desperately wanted to win. If she just could stop being such a wimp, and just get over those jumps. They weren't even big, she'd jumped bigger things with her pony when she was little…

Claire was tossing and turning in bed, her mind spinning a hundred k's an hour. It was past midnight and she still hadn't had a second of sleep. Finally she decided to get out of bed and have some ice-cream.

Tess couldn't sleep. She was really curious about the whole Alex and Claire thing, but her main worry was Liz. Why didn't that woman like her? Why wouldn't she let her be with Nick. _Maybe she's right. _Tess thought, what if this wouldn't last. What if she got sick of Nick before they even started anything. What if she hurt him? She decided she needed some ice-cream.

PART 7

Claire was sitting on the veranda with her jacket on, and her blanket covered feet on the table, lost in thoughts while scooping ice cream into her mouth.

"Great minds think alike, huh?"

Claire jumped a little, but then she gave Tess a little smile.

"I saved you some chocolate."

Tess smiled and sat down next to Claire. "Hand it over!"

Claire absentmindedly handed Tess the box, sucking at her spoon, completely lost in her thoughts. Tess just looked at her, and decided that she'd save the questioning for later.

"I can't remember much of last night." Claire was starting into space, avoiding Tess' eyes.

Tess just sat there, slowly scooping ice cream into her mouth, waiting for Claire to continue.

"Oh God!" Claire eyes were suddenly wide open. "I kissed him!"

_Well, that's a quite common way to start things that end up in bed,_ Tess thought, but she decided not to say it out loud, in case that would make Claire shut down again. Instead she went into full counseling mode.

"And how do you feel about that?"

"I don't know!" Claire moaned with hear head in her hands. "What a mess!" Claire lifted her head and looked at Tess for the first time that night. "He's a mate. My best mate."

"Well, you don't usually go around kissing your mates when you're drunk." Tess said softly. Then she suddenly remembered something. "Well, except for Nick, at Jodi's 18th…"

"But that was different."

"How was that different?"

"Because Nick's Nick, and Alex is Alex."

"I'm sorry Claire, but I'm having trouble seeing the difference here." Tess said.

"Nick's not…"

"Nick's not what, Claire?"

"Nick's not Alex."

_There you go_, Tess thought, but for what seemed like the hundredth time that night she once again kept her mouth shut. _I'm starting to get the hang of this country thing with not talking about things. _She was actually mighty pleased with herself.

"I'm going to bed." Claire stood up and left.

Tess tried to hide the smile on her face as she once again dug the spoon into the chocolate ice-cream.

_Tomorrow will be very interesting, _she thought to herself. Then she suddenly remembered something. "Damn! I won't be here to see Claire confronting Alex! Bloody Wheat!"

Part 8

Alex couldn't sleep. He was thinking about their fight. He didn't mean to get so worked up, but he'd just exploded when Claire had rejected him like that. Why wouldn't she talk to him? After all they spent the night together. He couldn't remember much, but he sure remembered her kissing him. And then he woke up in her bed. What did she mean about not knowing whether it was pleasure or not? Was he really that bad? Or was it a chance that nothing happened? He really wished his memory would return soon. But he guessed that Claire was as fogged as he was. But when both of them were too drunk to remember anything there was still a chance that noting happened.

Then he realized that he really wished that something had happened, after all, Claire was an amazing woman. Who else could beat him at pretty much everything, who else would be there no matter how bad he screwed up, who else would sit on the veranda and drink beer with him, without any expectations. Who else would be everything that Claire was?

He surely hoped he hadn't screwed up for ever. But then again, it was Claire who avoided him all day. But he hadn't needed to get so worked up about it. He wondered if they'd had an amazing night. He wished he could remember… But he couldn't have been that drunk if they'd slept together? After all, things didn't work properly if he was too drunk? Or that's what he'd read in some of those girly magazines his previous girlfriends had left around. He wished he hadn't been that angry at her when he finally found her. But it was his business, and his reputation at stake. He didn't want to loose that because of some drunken night with a woman. But she wasn't just any woman, she was Claire.

Why did he suddenly see her in a completely different light? She'd always been a mate, but suddenly she was so much more. He didn't want to loose a mate, no matter what, but still. Claire was so much more than a mate. How many of his mates would tell him he was wrong all the time? How many of his mates would be there every time he screwed up? How many of his mates would forget the past when they were told the horrible truth, and just keep going with the present? How many of his mates were like Claire?

No one, he realized. There was no one like her. But what if he'd screwed up everything, forever?

What if there were no second chances after that night that he couldn't remember?

"Man I'm hungry." Alex said to himself, and decided to raid the fridge.

Part 9

Nick was loading seeds as Alex pulled up in front of him.

"I thought you'd be at Drovers today?" Nick seemed confused.

"I'm on my way, just thought I'd stop by and see if my little brother's still alive."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"So dinner with the folks went well then?"

"Yeah, it was good, we explained about the organic business, and Harry seemed ok with it."

"He actually agreed to stop spraying?" Alex replied, and a shadow flew over his face. Nick seemed to be hitting the happy road with Tess, and he was back to the land of confused with Claire.

Nick noticed the change on his brothers face, and remembered what Tess had told him earlier. So he smiled and asked:

"So you and Claire, huh?"

"What did Tess tell you?" Alex did not want to discuss this with his brother.

"She said you spent the night."

"Yeah, well, I had too much to drink, and now Claire hates me for some reason. Anyway, that's none of your business, but I'm going over there right now to sort out this mess. If she's willing to speak to me, that is." Alex said as he got in his ute.

"Good luck, mate!" Nick shouted after him, before he turned to Tess. "He sure needs it if Claire pissed at him."

Claire was about to finish brushing Eagle when she heard footsteps behind her.

She turned around and saw Alex. Rolling her eyes, she grumbled: "Rack off, Ryan. Im not in the mood for your lectures right now."

"Lectures?" Alex was confused again. "What lectures? I'm not here to lecture you, but we have to talk about this."

"No, we don't. We can just forget it, and get on with the training." Claire said in her usual no-nonsense way. "Now make yourself useful, and go get me a saddle."

"But Claire…" Alex tried again.

"Horse." Claire pointed at the horse. "Saddle" she pointed at Alex. "Jumps." She pointed towards the paddock, where they'd put up the jumps a couple of days earlier.

"Now move." She said. "We have a show to win!"

Alex didn't know how to respond to this, so he just got the saddle and handed it to Claire. He really wanted to say something, but he didn't know what to say, or how to put it into words, so he just kept his mouth shut for now.

When they reached the jumps after Claire had finished warming Brave J, Claire pulled the horse into a halt.

"So, now that it's morning, do you still love me?" Claire said with a dead serious, almost shy expression.

Alex looked up at her with confused look on his face.

"What did I do?

"What, you didn't mean it?"

Claire got the horse into a gallop and aimed for the jump before Alex even had a chance to respond. She took all three jumps in one go, and then she turned to Alex again with and extremely pleased look on her face, laughing at his confused look. _Good thing I'm not the only one who can't remember,_ she thought, before she quickly emptied her head, and focused on the Alex.

"Well done!" Alex was showing off one of his broadest grins, forgetting all about the comment she made just before she took the jump. "I told you a bit of homebrew never fails!"

Disclaimer: as always I don't own any of the characters, and in this part I don't even own all of the dialogue…

Part 10

Claire was standing in front of the mirror in her read pyjamas, brushing her teeth with such force that you would think she tried to brush them off.

Tess was sitting on the bathtub, looking at her.

"You were quiet at dinner?"

Claire glanced up at her.

"You too. Lost in thought." Claire continued to brush her teeth.

"I was thinking about helicopters."

Claire turned her head and looked at her for a quick second, before she turned back to her brushing.

"Did I tell you I went up with Nick the other day?"

Claire took the brush out of her mouth, bent down and spat out, before she slowly turned her head towards Tess with a grin on her face.

"Must be serious."

"Why would you say that?"

"You get vertigo standing on a ladder, let alone flying around in a chopper."

Tess just smiled.

"Did you scream?"

"Of course not!"

"Did you close your eyes the whole time?"

"No I looked at the view, it was amazing!" Tess said with a huge grin.

"Hm. It is serious."

"Would that be a problem?" Tess said with a concerned look on her face.

Claire shook her head.

"Not for me."

"What about Alex?"

"I don't think it's Alex you need to be worrying about. He's used to getting dumped by every girl in the district."

"Including me."

"Nick isn't like Alex, Tess. He can't handle that kind of rejection."

"I know that."

--

Tess had just gotten into bed, and was wriggling to make herself comfortable when Claire appeared in the door.

"Did you eat all the ice cream last night?" Claire asked with a little smile.

"No, there's still a whole box left in the freezer."

"Care to join me?"

"Sure!" Tess stood up and got out of bed, pulling a blanket with her to cover her shoulders.

They sat at the kitchen table, eating ice cream in silence for a while, before Tess carefully spoke.

"Claire?"

"Uhm, yeah?" Claire was lost in thought, staring at her spoon.

"Did you talk to Alex?" Tess was carefully questioning Claire, not wanting to upset her. "About what happened?"

"Not really, but it's all good, we're mates again." Claire said, not really wanting to discuss this with Tess, but still feeling like she should at least let Tess have some information, otherwise she might explode from curiosity. She was quite a bit like Jodi in that department.

"You sleep with the poor guy, and then you don't talk about it, you're just mates again? How is that possible?" Tess was really trying to figure out how her sisters brain worked.

"Just did. Alex is my best mate. And we don't know for sure that I slept with him."

"How can you possibly not know whether you had sex with him or not?" Tess really didn't understand this.

"Told you. Was drunk, can't remember. End of story. Good night, I'm off to bed."

With that Claire stood up and left, leaving Tess just sitting there with a somewhat shocked expression. _How was it possible to not remember something like that? How was it possible that they hadn't even talked about it? How was it possible to be so… so… Claire?_

PART 11

Flashback…

"_God, I'm freezing" Claire said, as they entered the house. "I need to get out of these wet clothes right now." _

_Then she turned and looked at Alex who was shivering. He looked a bit lost, he needed to get some dry clothes as well, but he didn't have anything at Drovers, and he didn't want the night to end just yet._

"_Come on, you big idiot, I'm sure we can find something for you too." Claire said, and dragged him up the stairs and into her room. She opened her closet in search for one of her big t-shirts._

"_There's nothing in here that will fit you, I have to go down to the laundry to look for something." She said and walked out the door. "Just get out of your wet clothes in the meantime."_

_She returned a few minutes later with an apologetic look on her face. "I'm sorry, Meg's a bit behind on the laundry, I couldn't find anything. But I found this!" she held up a bottle of scotch. "This should get us warm again!"_

_Alex was standing in the middle of the floor in just his silk blue boxers and a t-shirt, still dripping wet. _

"_You can't walk around like that. You'll catch a cold." Claire laughed as she saw his miserable appearance. "Hang on, I have an idea." She went to her closet and pulled out a pair of her pyjamas. "These are quite big, might fit you. Although they will probably be more like shorts on your legs." _

_Claire went to the bathroom and changed into her own pyjamas, with two extra jumpers underneath, and two pairs of thick woolen socks. She was freezing. When she returned to her room she saw Alex standing there in her pyjamas, the trousers only reaching right below his knees, and the jacket so tight there was no way he was able to button it. He looked like giant kid who'd outgrown everything he owned._

_Claire couldn't even speak through the uncontrollable fits of hysteric laughter. Alex looked a bit hurt, but then he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, and cracked up too. Claire handed him a blanket._

"_Wrap this around you, and get under the covers. I think the bed is the only warm place right now."_

_Alex looked a bit confused, but did as he was told. Then Claire wrapped a blanket around herself, and got into bed next to him, struggling a little with the scotch bottle._

"_I feel like the Michelin man!" Claire laughed as she tried to unscrew the bottle. "I'm wearing so many jumpers." _

_Alex didn't know how to respond to this, he was still pretty amazed by the whole situation. Here he was, in bed with Claire McLeod, looking like and idiot in her pyjamas that didn't fit at all. But he was still freezing, so the scotch looked really good. _

"_This is much better than dinner with the folks." Alex said after taking a sip of the scotch."_

"_It bothers you, doesn't it?" Claire asked._

"_Yeah!" Alex replied. "Nah, I don't know…"_

_Claire chuckled a little, then she turned serious. "Me too."_

"_Why does it bother you?" _

_Claire let out a little sigh. "Nah, jealous I guess."_

_Alex turned his head so he was looking straight at her. "Of Tess?"_

_Claire thought a little. "No."_

"_Of Nick?" Alex said with a disbelieving look on his face._

"_Of both of them. Starting new, being in love, walking on air. Before that moment when something goes horribly wrong, and your life stuffs up for good." Claire took another sip of scotch, feeling it burn all the way down on the inside. She frowned a little, and handed the bottle back to Alex._

"_What's wrong with it?" He said, concerned._

"_Nah." Claire said, not really knowing what to say._

_They sat in silence for a while, occasionally taking a sip of the scotch. The Alex spoke again._

"_How do you reckon we stack up?"_

_Claire turned her head and looked at him, confused. "What?"_

"_Me and Nick. I mean, if you had to compare us."_

"_I wouldn't."_

"_Ye, ye, ye, but if you did." Alex sat up a bit straighter in bed. "Who'd come out infront?"_

"_You want me to rate you, like you were a car or something?"_

"_Yeah!" Alex exclaimed._

"_All right. Let's see." Claire was thinking pretty hard. "Well, how fast do you go?"_

"_I'm pretty fast." Alex looked mighty pleased with himself._

_Claire let out a pretty loud little laugh. "Well, you've lost the race right there!" She smiled at him. "It really bothers you, doesn't it?"_

_They sat in silence for a while, handing the bottle back and forth between them._

_Alex turned his head and looked at Claire._

"_We make a good team, don't we?"_

_Claire just laughed at him._

"_You know it. I know it." Alex was smiling now. "And Brave J knows it too!"_

_Claire chuckled again. Alex leaned in and rested his head on her shoulder, taking in the scent of her, before he lifted his head and stared straight into her eyes. Then he sighed._

"_I love you Claire! I love you more than the chopper!"_

_Claire was just staring at him, as his lips came closer and closer to hers. She didn't pull away, she was mesmerized by his eyes, having him so close made her feel funny, in a good way. And then she kissed him. It was a very soft and gentle kiss, but it was not in any way just a friendly kiss. When they broke the kiss, Alex wrapped his arms around her, and they just sat there, holding each other until they both drifted off to sleep._

_Claire woke up in the middle of the night, she was so hot she could barely move. Still half a sleep she wriggled out of her clothes, until there was nothing left, and went back to sleep._

Part 12

It was the morning of the Gungellan show. Claire was standing by the horse yards, trying to get the tack ready, but she found herself completely lost in thought. She was starting to remember the homebrew night. The details were still a little fussy, but she had a very clear memory of feeling secure, and loved. The whole thing was just weird.

"Hey! You ready to get a wrigg on?" Alex came up to her, looking concerned.

"Yeah." She looked away, not facing him.

"You're not still worried 'bout the Stockman's Challenge are you?" Alex wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they walked towards the ute. "Ah, Claire, I told you, leave the cross-country to me, and the you can concentrate on the easy things, right."

"Thanks." She didn't sound like she meant it.

"That way no one needs to know you're a wimp."

Claire thought for a second, before she drove her elbow, full force, into his ribs.

Alex just stopped and looked at her with a smile on his face. _What an amazing woman_, he thought.

--

When they arrived at the show grounds they started unloading the animals.

"I'll be at the boxing tent if anyone needs me." Becky shouted before she took off.

"Looks like Peter's up first." Claire was staring at the board for the Stockman's Challenge.

"Well, he'll be finishing last." Alex was being his usual cocky self.

--

Claire was watching Peter ride the obstacle course when Alex showed up behind her.

"There's a lot of interest in the Ryan-McLeod partnership. We should have gone into business sooner."

"Yeah." Claire was distracted, Peter was doing really well. "I should go get ready."

"Don't worry, Claire, you know you're a better rider than him. Heck, you're almost as good as me. So you'll just go out there, and do your thing, and you'll win this, I promise!"

Alex put his arm around her shoulders as they walked towards the horse, but Claire just shrugged him off.

"Put a sock in it, Ryan, you know just as well as I do that I'm the better rider."

"That's the spirit!" Alex threw his arms out with a big smile. "Now go win this thing!"

--

Claire had mounted Brave J, and was waiting to get called into the ring.

"Ok, Claire, Peter got a score of 93, which is near perfect." Alex was doing a pep-talk. "But you're a better rider, which means that this will be a piece of cake for you. You just have to focus."

Claire just looked at him like he was mad, but then the corners of her mouth started to curl up a little, and before he knew it she was showing off one of her broadest grins.

"Really?"

"Yes, really, now get going, they're calling you!" Alex followed her with his eyes. _What was that? That was a really weird moment, wasn't it?_

Give it up for Claire McLeod on Brave J! From McLeod-Ryan Horse Services.

Alex was paying close attention to Claire's riding. "Good circle. Close to perfect. Now the sideway movement. Not touching the pole…Legs crossing properly…Get him straight! Get him straight before you start backing, Claire! Good girl! Now the jump… come on… come on…Yes!"

"You know, she can't hear you."

Alex jumped. "Jeez, Tess, let people know you're coming before you sneak up behind them!"

"Sorry!" Tess laughed at him. "What's next?"

"Shhh!" Alex was once again focusing on Claire. "Turn on the hindquarters." He said, more to himself than to Tess. "Shit!"

"What happened?" Tess couldn't see anything wrong.

"Brave J turned his left hind foot without lifting it, instead of lifting it up and putting it down again in the new place." Alex was trying to explain the movements to Tess, but he wasn't really paying attention to his own words. "Around the gate…steady now…get the mailbag…Careful! Good girl…Now the mail run…hold on to the bag…over the jump… don't drop it…don't drop it!" Alex' knuckles had turned white, he was holding on to the fence for his bare life. "Good girl!" he let out all the breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "Way to go Claire!" He yelled at her.

She smiled back at him, and raised her hand to a little wave before exiting the ring.

Part 13

"A tie?" Claire was furious. "What do you mean it's a tie?"

"You and Peter Johnson have the exact same score, so now it all depends on the cross country." The judge tried to explain to Claire, but she wasn't ready to listen.

"How can we have the same score? One of us had to be better, it's not possible to be equally good! This competition is meant to show who's best, not that we're the same!"

"Relax Claire." Alex was trying to calm her down, she looked like she was about to attack the judge. "I'll trash him in the cross-country tomorrow."

"No you won't." Claire was staring straight at him, with a look he sure hoped was intended for the judge and not him.

"What?" Alex was confused. "Claire, this is not the time to loose faith in me."

"You're not going to trash him tomorrow, I am!" Claire said, and walked away.

"Hey, wait up Claire!" Alex was running after her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm riding tomorrow!"

"But you're a wimp, Claire?" Alex was sounding concerned, he wasn't trying to piss her off.

"I'm the trainer, it's my riding they are interested in, not yours."

"But you did great today, they know you can ride."

"I'm riding. End of story." Claire was firm.

"Ok, if you're sure." Alex didn't really know what to think about this sudden change of mind. "But let me know if you're going to change your mind again."

"I'm not going to change my mind, what do you think I am, a three year old in a candy shop?"

"I didn't mean it like that, Claire, you know I'm just looking out for you."

"Well, I don't need looking after, so just rack off!" And with that, Claire left.

"Have you seen Tess anywhere?" Claire was tired and wanted to get to bed as soon as possible.

"I haven't seen her since she left with Nick. Must be about an hour ago." Meg took the last sip of her beer. "I'm off to bed. Guess that's where Tess and Nick are too, judging by their behavior earlier." She said with a smile, before she left for her room.

"Bugger!"

"What's wrong Claire?" Alex sat down next to her and ordered a beer for each of them.

"Tess has my key, and she's with Nick. I'm tired and I want to go to bed. Why on earth would you order me a beer without even asking if I wanted one?"

"You never say no to beer, Claire, I thought I was being nice."

"Well, you were wrong."

Alex put up a hurt face.

"I'm sorry, Alex. I'm just really tired."

"Why don't you sit here and enjoy your beer while I go knock on their door to see if they're not too busy to give me the key?"

"Have fun." Claire smiled. "I sure as hell don't want to interrupt whatever they are doing right now."

"Gee, thanks Claire, I don't need pictures in my head!"

"Sorry." She didn't look like she meant it. "But you'll have to get your things as well, unless you want to share a room with them tonight."

"You really think they'd let me?"

"Nope." She chuckled. "You'll be freezing in the back of your ute tonight."

"The ute? Are you crazy? I want to be alive tomorrow, I have to get a room."

"Good luck with that. It's the Gungellan show, they've been booked out for months!"

"Then I guess you'll just have to put up with me for the night, after all I'm getting your key."

"Not happening, Ryan, I'm not sharing."

Alex pulled a puppy face. "Ok, but if I'm dead in the morning it's your fault. And I need to borrow your swag, didn't bring mine."

"What makes you think I brought one?"

"You didn't?" Alex looked really worried now. "Claire, I'll freeze to death!"

"Ok, I give in! You can sleep on the floor. If you go get my key, that is. Otherwise we'll both freeze to death tonight."

"Thanks Claire, that's really generous of you." Alex said as he walked towards the rooms.

"Thanks for the beer mate!" she shouted after him.

"You know Claire, I didn't know these rooms could be so small." Alex looked at her, saying what she was thinking. The hotel room was barely big enough for him to turn around without bumping into anything.

"Not much floor space in here, that's for sure." She answered, her brain working overtime trying to figure out how to make room for him on the floor. "I guess I'll have to sleep on the floor then, I'm shorter than you."

"But you're riding tomorrow, I need you to be in top shape."

"Yeah?" Claire couldn't really see the problem.

"You'll be stiff as a plank tomorrow."

"Possible." She looked at the bed, it was a lot more tempting than the floor.

"I'll sleep on the floor, I'll just have to curl up somehow."

"Ok. You can have a pillow, but there's only one blanket."

"I reckon I'll be fine with my jacket."

When she emerged from the bathroom in her pyjamas he suddenly remembered something.

"I'm really sorry about your PJ's."

"What's wrong with them?" She looked down her front, trying to figure out what he was talking about.

"Not those, the ones you let me borrow the other night…"

"What?" Then she suddenly remembered. And she started to laugh.

"I forgot that!" She laughed even harder, tears escaping from her eyes. "That was bloody hilarious!"

"Yeah, well… I guess so." He didn't find it quite as amusing as she did. "Thing is…" His voice trailed off, he wasn't really sure how to say this. "Thing is I couldn't get them off." He avoided looking into her eyes. "They ripped when I tried to go to the bathroom… and then I had to tear them even more to get them all off…both the pants and the jacket…" Her laughter had silenced a little, but she was still chuckling to herself. "I'm going to buy you some new ones! Just tell me what colour you want, and I'll get them for you!"

"No worries, Ryan." Claire climbed into bed, and Alex tried to settle on the floor, but every time he moved he bumped into the bed, or the nightstand, or the door. Claire was still chuckling to herself, but she was starting to get annoyed.

"Can you keep still? How is it possible to be so noisy without even talking?"

"Sorry." Alex really tried to keep still, but it didn't last more than a few minutes before he felt his leg cramp up, and he had to move again.

"Ok!" Claire sounded angry.

"Sorry, I'm trying."

"Just get in bed, will you?"

Part 14

"So, tell me what they were up to when you got the key?" Claire was smiling, she hoped this was something she could tease him about.

"Oh, you know, nothing much." Alex knew what Claire wanted.

"Oh, come on, Alex, spill!"

"Ok, ok, hold your horses." Alex included an artistic break. "By the looks of things, they were having a bath. Nick came out in nothing more than a towel, and he was pissed as hell at me for interrupting."

"Goodie!" Claire was pretty pleased with this information.

"Why is that good?" Alex didn't really see the logic here.

"I've just needed something to hold over her head ever since that morning, you know." She didn't look at him, she still didn't want to talk about it. She remembered everything now, or at least she thought she did. But she still had no clue whatsoever to how she ended up without clothes.

/CA/

Claire was asleep and dreaming she was in Alex' arms, it was so real, she could even smell him. She snuggled up even closer, burying her face in the arch of his neck, her hand gently playing with his hair. This was a good dream.

"I love you, Alex…" she mumbled into his neck contently.

He embraced her with both arms, pulling her closer and Claire felt him caressing the soft skin behind her ear with one hand, the other tracing her spine up and down inside her top. God that felt good.

Her hand started to explore the muscles in his back, following every line and every curve she could find.

Her dream Alex moved his hands to her waist along her curves down past her hip and onto her thigh, stroking up and down a few times before he moved up again.

Her hands had now traveled down his backside, and she was gently playing with the waistband of his boxers, following it all the way to the front, where she started to move up again, stroking his stomach. She could do it, it was only a dream.

Alex had a wonderful dream. Claire was in his arms and wasn't pushing him away. She was actually rather pushing him in a very certain direction the he absolutely liked.

So he played along and traced her collarbone with his lips, mouth closed, inhaling the scent of her. He felt her hands move to his backside again, pulling him gently over 'till he was on top of her. She moved her hands slowly from his bum, over his stomach, to his chest and down his back again.

By that time Alex was fully awake and kissing his way from her neck and down, slowly opening one button in her pj's at the time. When he'd opened them all, he looked up at her.

"Claire?" he whispered

"Mmmmhmm" she still didn't open her eyes. He decided to try again, he needed confirmation.

"Claire? Are you sure about this?"

Her eyes were suddenly wide open, and she stared at him like he was a creature from another world. She threw him off her, and jumped out of bed.

"What the hell are you doing, Ryan?"

Surprised he got out of bed to, and they now stood a meter apart, staring at each other.

"The same as you! No need to look so shocked, you started it!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

She was staring at him with a look that could kill, and he was almost afraid she'd start to breath fire. He was staring at her like she was completely naked under her very open pyjama jacket. There was no way he could hide the effect she had on him.

She glared at him for what seemed like the longest five seconds in her life. Then she felt like she was shot out of a canon, and she ran to him, kissing him with all she had, pushing him back into bed. They picked up where they left off, but this time it was completely different, they were kissing with a passion neither of them knew they had in them, their mouths and hands greedy and exploring, trying to reach over as much of the other person as they possibly could.

When Claire woke up she was still wrapped up in Alex' arms. She slowly wriggled herself out of his grip, picked up her clothes, and ran for the bathroom. She got dressed as quickly as she could, and took off.


	2. Chapter 15

Part 15

Part 15

Alex was starting to wake up, stretching in bed, reaching over to Claire, wanting her closer. _This bed is huge_, he thought as he couldn't find her. When he reached the end, he woke up pretty quickly. _She ran out on me again! _

He was swearing to himself as he got dressed. _She kisses me, she hates me, she ignores me, she's my mate again, and then…and then she does what she did last night…And just when I think we're on the same planet, she takes off again._

"Well, she can't ignore me completely today, we have a show to win." Alex was talking to himself as he put on his hat, and left the room.

--

"You could have woken me up, you know." Alex sounded a little hurt.

"Had to check on Brave J." Claire was facing the horse, avoiding his eyes.

"So…Where do we stand now?"

"Peter's up first, I'm second."

"That's not what I meant, Claire, and you know it." Alex didn't really know what to say, he was afraid of what she'd say, afraid that she'd regret the previous night.

"Pass me the blanket, will you? I don't want him to get cold."

"So we're back here again? Talking about everything but us." Alex was clearly frustrated now.

"There is no us." Claire turned around, and stared him right above the eyes, too afraid to actually look into his eyes.

Alex just walked off. _How can she be so indifferent to this? How can she ignore me so completely? She knows how I feel about her, I've told her. Ok, I was drunk, but I told her._

Alex walked over to the homebrew stall, looking for Nick, and to see if he'd won.

"Alex!"

He could hear Tess yelling at him from a far, but he just kept walking, pretending not to hear her.

"Alex!" She'd caught up with him, and he realized there was no way to escape. "What the hell have you done with my sister now?"

"What are you talking about, Tess?"

"She's grumpy, snapping at everyone for no reason, and I'm pretty sure it's your fault."

"Why do you automatically assume it's my fault?"

"Because it usually is, and you were the last person who saw her last night. And she's not talking to you today. I demand to know what's going on!"

"Then go ask Claire." Alex turned and walked away, his back saying more about his mood than anything else.

--

"Claire!" Tess was annoyed.

"What?"

"I want to know what's going on! I'm sick of this! You can't just shut everyone out whenever you feel like it! You have to talk to me, tell me what's wrong?"

"Rack off, Tess, I'm fine." Claire looked everything but fine.

"No, you're not." Tess was determined to get an answer. "Don't be so bloody stubborn, Claire, just tell me why Alex came to pick up your key, and how that lead to you not talking to him."

"I'm not not talking to Alex, where did you get that idea?"

"Then why isn't he here right now, planning how to win this race?"

"He had things to do."

"Fine, Claire, I give up!" Tess started to walk away, but then she turned around. "Just make sure you clean up this mess before we get home, I'm not living in the same house as you when you're like this."

"Then go to Wilgul!" and with that, Claire declared the discussion to be over.

--

Alex showed up right before the race, to help out with the final details. He and Claire was still not really speaking to each other, apart from a few necessary horse-related sentences.

Claire was standing at the start-line, waiting for her signal.

"You're going to kick his ass, Claire. Brave J knows what he's doing." Alex assured her.

She smiled back at him, forgetting that she wasn't really talking to him, before her signal came and she took off.

She rode like her life was on the line, as fast as she knew she could, without wearing out the horse to soon. Aiming for the high jumps, to collect points. She could see Peter in front of her, she was slowly gaining on him. She was only three horse lenghts behind him when his horse suddenly stopped in front of the high jump. It was too late for her to change her course, and the crash was inevitable.


	3. Chapter 16

Part 16

Part 16

"Get an ambulance, Claire McLeod's down!" The rider that had been right after Claire had turned around, and yelled at the crowd.

"Claire!" Tess ran as fast as she could.

When the ambulance arrived, Peter got up from where he was sitting beside Claire, and ran towards the ambulance.

"She's ok! She's breathing! She's breathing!"

"What's her name?" The paramedic ran towards Claire, still unconscious on the ground.

"Claire, Claire. Please hurry!" Peter was desperate, he still loved her, and wanted her to be ok.

Alex arrived at the scene, got off his horse and bent down next to her.

"Claire?"

"Claire can you hear me?" The paramedic tried to get Claire's attention.

"She was trying to talk just a minute ago." Peter was so worried he didn't know what to do with himself.

"My name is Julie, and I'm an ambulance officer." The paramedics took Claire helmet off. "You had a bit of a tumble off your horse."

Alex stood up and looked at Peter, clearly angry.

"What have you done this time?"

"Claire tried to take the top jump…" Peter was trying to explain, but there was no use.

"What did you do?" Alex yelled at him.

"It wasn't my fault!"

"I'll bloody kill you!" Alex pushed Peter to the ground.

"Claire?" Tess finally arrived at the scene, completely out of breath after the long run.

"She's ok, she's hanging in there." Alex looked at Tess.

"Tess?" Claire tried to speak through her mask.

"I'm here Claire. It's ok."

"Don't try and smile, Claire, it will hurt." Alex was stroking her hair.

"Brave J?" Claire whispered. "Brave J?" She tried again, a little louder.

"They're looking after him." Alex assured her.

They put Claire on a stretcher, and put her in the ambulance. Tess rode in the ambulance with her, while the others squeezed into the ute.

--

Alex was pacing up and down in the waiting room, driving everyone insane. Claire had been in for over an hour now, and they still hadn't heard anything, but Tess had been with her all the time, and Alex hoped it was a good thing that she hadn't come out yet.

"No news is good news, Alex, so can you please sit down?" Meg was tired of his pacing. "I'll go crazy if you continue to wear out the floor in here."

"Sorry." Alex slumped down into a chair, but he got up again a second later, when he saw Tess come in. "Is she ok?"

"She'll be fine!" Tess smiled, and suddenly everyone in the room looked a lot more relieved. Brick squeezed Becky's hand, and she smiled back at him.

"She's a little concussed, and she broke an ankle and an arm, but she'll be fine!"

"So she's really ok then?" Alex wanted to be sure, he'd been so worried.

"She's in surgery at the moment, but she'll be fine! If everything goes well she'll be home in about four days."

"When can I see her?"

"They'll let us know when she wakes up, but it will be a while." Tess looked at him, he was really concerned. "Why don't we go grab something to eat?"

"I'm not really hungry." Alex looked at the doors.

_He's really worried. _Tess thought. She felt sorry for him, she knew they had some kind of disagreement before this happened.

--

When they returned from the cafeteria, where Alex had managed to stuff two big sandwiches in his not hungry mouth, the doctors came out.

"She's out of surgery, and she's fine, but she'll need an hour to wake up before you can visit her."

Alex thought it was the longest hour of his life, but finally a nurse came out and said that she was awake and had been wheeled to her room.

"I'm first!" Alex said, and practically ran towards the door. Then he stopped and turned around. "Uh, Nurse? Where is she?"

"416." The nurse smiled at him.

--

Claire was lying in bed with her eyes closed. She was very pale, the arm with the cast on was on top of the duvet. She looked so peaceful. But then she suddenly opened her eyes and stared straight at him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked bluntly.

"I'm here to see how you're doing, what did you think?"

"What about Brave J?"

"Nick's looking after him. There's nothing to worry about Claire." Alex walked over to the bed, and sat down on a chair.

"So how long do you have to wear that cast?" He was eyeing her leg, still hidden under the duvet.

"Forever, apparently. I can't ride for at least three months." She looked at him. "What the hell am I going to do for three months, Alex?"

"You could take up knitting. I think that will suit you." He snickered.

She punched in the shoulder with her good arm.

"Ouch, McLeod, that hurt!" He smiled at her, he was so relieved that she was ok that he'd forgotten everything that had happened earlier that day. "There's always paperwork, you know."

"Ooh, goody!" she sarcastically, she actually sounded a lot like Jodi.

"You'll be alright, Claire." He looked down at her. "It could have been a lot worse."

"What is worse than breaking an ankle?"

"You could have been a lot worse with that tumble. You could have been here for months, but you're going home in four days." He looked at his watch. "My fifteen minutes are up, there are heaps of people out there who wants to see you, so I guess I better leave." He stood up and walked out the door.

"I'm sorry, Alex." She whispered at the door, after he'd left.


	4. Chapter 17

Part 17

Part 17

Claire was sitting on her bed, fully dressed, with her bag packed on the bed next to her. She was so excited to finally go home that she could hardly wait, but the huge grin on her face quickly faded when Alex came through the door.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm here to take you home, Claire, what did you think?"

"What happened to Tess?"

"She had to round up the cattle." Alex grabbed Claire's bag. "Are you ready?"

"Just waiting for the doctor." Claire frowned. "Apparently I have to check out, like this was a hotel or something." She threw Alex a suspicious look. "Why is she rounding up the cattle?"

"Loverboy is on the loose again, he broke through three fences. She wants to keep an eye on them."

Right then the doctor showed up with a wheelchair. "Well, well Ms McLeod, all ready to go home, are we?"

"Let's just get on with it." Claire was impatient, she'd already wasted too much time in this place.

"Ok. I've prescribed some painkillers for you, just incase you'd need them. And there has been arrangements done for a wheelchair for you, you can take this one."

"A wheelchair?" Claire looked at him. "What the hell would I need a wheelchair for?"

The doctor looked at Alex, as if to ask what do to about this woman. "If you want to move around, that could come in handy, otherwise you'd be stuck in bed 'till that cast comes off."

"What happened to crutches?" Claire wanted to know.

"You can't put pressure on your arm yet, it's broken if you haven't forgotten." The doctor looked as if he was about to give up on her.

"But I have a farm to run, I can't be in a wheelchair?" Claire wasn't willing to admit that he might be right. "And there is no way I can get around in a wheelchair, the property isn't built for it…"

"You'll just have to call in sick, you can't work a property right now."

Claire was completely lost for words. Here she was finally going home, and she wasn't allowed to move. "What am I going to do then?" She was looking from the doctor to Alex, and back to the doctor again.

"We'll work something out, it will be all right, Claire." Alex tried to assure her, he could see how desperate she was. "Let's just get you home, and we can take it from there."

"Ok then, I'll see you in two weeks, and if you do your exercises, your arm might be strong enough for underarm crutches then." The doctor looked at Alex again. "Make sure she takes it easy, will you?"

"I can try." Alex snickered as he helped Claire into the wheelchair.

When they reached the ute Claire got out of the wheelchair and hopped over to the car on one leg. "Just leave the bloody thing here Alex, there is no way I can use that thing around Drovers." She said as she got in the car.

"Are you sure, Claire?" Alex looked at her.

"Of course I'm sure! There is no way that thing will fit through the doors, and it can't climb stairs, and it will get stuck in the dirt, and I only have one arm at the moment, so the bloody thing will only spin around in circles anyway. Just leave it here!"

"Ok." Alex smiled at her, she was cute when she was angry.

Claire just stared out the window, she was not in the mood to look at him, and she was very aware of the fact that he was sitting rather close to her.

Alex was focusing on the road, but he glanced at her occasionally. She hadn't said a word for over an hour. The night at the show played over and over in his mind, along with the accident. He'd been so scared. He was so afraid to loose her, she was everything to him. He just wished he knew where to stand in this situation. Her constant mood swings could drive a man crazy, still he tried his best to ignore that and just be her friend. Hoping that she's come around eventually and talk about the things that had happened between them.

Alex stopped the ute in front of the homestead, and got out and grabbed her bag. Claire was leaning at the car looking at him. "Aren't you going to get over here and help me?"

Alex left her bag by the car and walked over to her. Then he picked her up and chucked her over his shoulder.

"Put me down this instant Alex Ryan!" Claire tried to hit him with he good arm, but he didn't seem to notice. He carried her straight into the downstairs bedroom and dumped her on the bed.

"Why did you dump me here? I want to sleep in my own bed!"

"Claire, there is no way you can manage those stairs. Here everyone can hear you if you need something." Alex aimed for the door. "Get comfy, I'll go grab us something to eat, Meg prepared some sandwiches for us."

Alex returned two minutes later with the food and a couple of beers. He got into bed next to her, and handed her a plate.

"Now that I finally got you in a place where you can't run out on me, we are going to talk about this." He was looking her straight in the eyes.

She quickly looked away. "Talk about what?"

"Have you forgotten what happened?" He was starting to loose his calm.

"I wish." She whispered, continuing to avoid his glance.

Alex picked up his beer and left. He was hurt. She clearly didn't want him. He thought they had had a fantastic night, and she had started it all, and now she wished it never happened. He sat down on the veranda, drinking his beer, completely lost in thought.

"Where is she?" Tess came running from the stables, happy to have Claire home again.

"I put her in the room." Alex frowned. "I'm going home."

Tess looked at him as he left. "Back here again, are we?" she muttered to herself as she headed towards Claire's room.


	5. Chapter 18

Part 18

Part 18

"Got any beer in this place?" Alex yelled as he walked through the doors of Wilgul, clearly not sober.

"Sure, why?" Nick opened the door in his pyjamas, and took one look at Alex. "Are you sure you need more?"

"Of course I need more, I only had ten or twelve so far." Alex walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. "What's a man supposed to do, Nick?" He grabbed a few beers out of the fridge and handed one to Nick.

"About what? Nick accepted the beer, and realized that this would be a long night. Good Tess had decided to stay at Drovers to catch up with Claire.

"About those bloody women, Nick!" Alex complained.

"Who is it this time?" Nick searched his brain. "You haven't been out on a date in ages."

"She's so bloody stubborn, she won't even talk to me!" Alex moaned with his head in his hands. "How can she do this to me? I thought we were mates." He lifted his head and looked at Nick. "She kissed me, Nick."

"Who kissed you?" Nick really didn't see where this conversation came from.

"Claire, of course, who did you think?"

"Claire?" Nick was surprised. "You and Claire?"

"Well, I thought so at the show, but now she refuses to talk to me again." Alex downed his beer in one go, and opened another one. "She knows I love her, why won't she talk to me about this?"

"You love her?" Nick hadn't seen this one coming, but now that he thought about it, it actually made a lot of sense. It would explain Alex' behavior over the last couple of months.

"Of course I do, Nick!" Alex tried to focus on him. "I have to go tell her!" He stood up and walked towards the door.

"Are you sure that is wise, Alex?" Nick looked at him. "You've had too much to drive."

"I'm fine, Nick, rack off!" He walked towards his ute, but somehow managed to trip in his own legs, and fell on his face. Sheepishly he looked up at Nick. "Maybe you're right."

"Yeah, I think so." Nick felt kind of sorry for him.

"Can you drive me?" Alex pleaded. "I really need to talk to her right now."

"Do you really think she will listen to you now, it's the middle of the night and you're drunk." Nick tried to reason with him.

"Ok, fine then, I'll go alone!" Alex headed towards his ute again, and was just about to get in, when Nick called out to him. "Ok, I'll take you!"

"Thanks mate, I knew I could rely on my little brother." Alex slurred.

"Yeah, well, I guess it's better to have Claire pissed off with me as well, than to have you kill yourself on the way there." Nick muttered to himself as he went to get his keys.


	6. Chapter 19

Part 19

Part 19

"Claire!" Alex stumbled towards the house.

Nick sat in his ute, trying to work out whether he should follow Alex in, or stay where he was. Either way he would be in trouble with the McLeods sisters. He decided it would be best to follow Alex in, so that he got a chance to explain why he drove him over in this state.

"What's going on?" Tess came running down the stairs in her nightgown, but suddenly stopped when she saw Nick. "What are you doing here?"

Alex had now made his way into Claire's room, where he kneeled in front of the bed. He shook her shoulder quite violently to wake her up, and it worked like a charm.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Ryan!" The look in her eyes would have made anyone back off immediately, but Alex was on a mission now.

"I love you Claire!" He took her hand and held it tight, as if to prevent her from running away. "And now I need to know why you won't talk to me. That night was amazing, Claire!"

Claire didn't know what to say, so she just looked at him.

"Come on, Claire, you have to admit it was amazing! We make a good team!"

"It was a spur of the moment thing, Alex." Claire turned around in bed, so that she didn't have to face him.

Alex got up and walked over to the other side of the bed, where he slumped down next to Claire.

"Get your dirty boots out of my bed, Alex!" She yelled at him before she turned around again, still avoiding his eyes.

Alex slid a little down in the bed, so that his feet were hanging over the edge, but his head was still at the same level as Claire's. "I'm not leaving 'till you talk to me, Claire, so you'll just have to put up with me."

Claire was staring at the wall, very aware of his proximity, and the way it made her feel. _Get a grip, he's just a mate_. She tried to convince herself.

It didn't take more than a few minutes before Alex' rhythmic snoring filled the room. Claire smiled to herself, and drifted off to sleep. It was a safe sound.

Tess and Nick were sitting in the kitchen, listening to their siblings.

"Did you know anything about this?" Nick questioned Tess.

"I knew something happened, they've both been in a horrible mood lately, but I had no idea they slept together again." Tess turned her head at the sound of Alex snoring. She then looked at Nick.

"Ok, I think this is my cue to get him out of there." He walked into the room. "Tess, I'm going to need some help here, he's way too heavy for me in this state."

Tess came into the room and together they tried to drag Alex out of the bed, but he was practically unconscious, and not cooperating.

"I give up. I think we just have to leave him here." Tess looked at Nick. "But take his boots off." She walked around the bed to check on Claire, who was sound asleep. "How can she sleep in this noise?"

"Beats me." Nick looked at her. "Can I sleep in your bed tonight? I'm too tired to drive home now…"

Tess looked at him. "Ok…if you're a good boy." She said with a wink of the eye. "No funny business." She gave him a wicked smile, and started to run up the stairs to her room. Nick wasn't far behind.


	7. Chapter 20

Part 20

Part 20

Meg loaded up a full breakfast plate, and handed it to Jodi.

"Take this in to Claire, will you?"

"Sure." Jodi opened the door, but stopped with her mouth open, to look at the scene in front of her. Alex had his arms wrapped tightly around Claire, his face buried in her hair.

Jodi turned around, the plate still in her hand. "Mom!" she yelled into the kitchen. "Why is Alex here?"

Meg came out of the kitchen, took one look into the bedroom, and closed the door. "That is none of our business, so we should just leave them alone."

"But I didn't know anything about Alex and Claire." Jodi blabbered. "And why does he still have his jeans on?"

"I don't know, Jodi, and I suggest you keep your mouth shut until they come out of there." Meg threw her a warning look, and turned back to the cooking.

Alex was starting to wake up, there was a lot of noise coming from the kitchen. He snuggled even closer to Claire, kissing the back of her head.

Claire pretended to be asleep, fighting with her own feelings. She didn't want Alex this close to her. He tightened his grip on her waist, pulling her so close she could hardly breath. It felt so good, she didn't want him to let go ever again. _Face it, you're falling for your best mate._ Claire finally admitted to herself. She quickly wriggled out of Alex' arms, and sat up on the edge of the bed. She turned around to face him.

"What the hell are you still doing here?"

Alex looked at her in surprise. "I told I'm not leaving 'till you talk to me." He stood up and put on his boots. Then he walked over to her and hurled her over his shoulder. "It's time for breakfast." He carried her into the kitchen, and gently put her down on a chair. "Morning, Meg, do you have some food for this beautiful grouch here?"

"Rack off, Alex." Claire tried to sound angry, but she had to look away not to let him see her smile.

"Sure Alex, guess you'll be eating with us too." Meg smiled him, she had seen Claire's reaction.

--

Claire was sitting in the study, staring at the books. It was a great day, the temperature was perfect, there was lots of work to do, and she was stuck inside with the bloody computer that kept shutting down on her. In frustration she picked up the calculator and threw it at the door. In that very second Tess opened the door, and ducked.

"What are you doing, Claire, are you trying to kill me?" Tess looked a bit worried.

"Sorry." Claire didn't sound very convincing. "I hate this! I want to be outside! I want to work! And the bloody computer is fucked again!" Claire picked up a pencil and tried to get it in between the cast and her arm. She soon gave up, the pencil was too big. "And I hate this bloody cast!" She threw the pencil across the room.

"I'm not sure if throwing things around the room is going to help you get well sooner." Tess sat down on a chair. "So, what else is bugging you?"

Claire stared out the window. "I think I'm falling for a mate." She whispered, afraid that if she said it out loud it would suddenly become real.

Tess just smiled at her. "Considering the fact that you've slept with Alex twice already…"

"Once!" Claire interrupted.

"Ok, once already, I'd say you're not falling, you've already fallen."

Claire was still facing the window. "What am I going to do? What if it doesn't work out? He's my best mate, I can't loose him. Not like this."

"He loves you, you know." Tess looked at her. "He told all of us that he loved you last night."

"He was drunk."

"Well, you know what they say…"

"What?"

"Children and drunk people tell the truth." Tess stood up and walked out the door. "Think about that." She smiled to herself as she left.


	8. Chapter 21

Part 21

Part 21

Alex walked into the study and hurled Claire over his shoulder again, he was trying a new tactic. He wasn't going to say anything before she spoke to him, but he was determined to hang around until it happened. He carried her outside and put her in a chair next to the round paddock where he was training Casino. He then carried on with the training.

"Alex!" Claire was mad at him for just picking her up like that, and move her around as if she was a sack of potatoes or something, but she was happy to be outside, and she enjoyed watching him train the horse.

When he finished taking care of the horse he walked over to Claire and picked her up again, this time he carried her in his arms. She could feel his heart beating in his chest, and it matched the pace of her own. She rested her head on his shoulder, smelling him. Then she suddenly realized what she was doing, and quickly lifted her head.

Alex put her down on the veranda, where Tess and Meg had set the table for lunch.

Both Tess and Meg gave Claire a knowing smile, but they decided not to say anything. Claire just looked away.

"Hi Alex, you still here?" Jodi asked innocently. Meg automatically gave her a warning look, but Jodi ignored it. "So, tell me, when did you two hook up?"

All the women stared at her to shut her up, but she pretended not to see it.

"We didn't." Claire declared the discussion to be over.

--

Claire was sitting on the veranda, playing with her empty beer bottle, her mind spinning a hundred miles an hour. Alex hadn't said a word to her since that morning, but he'd basically carried her all around the property. What should she do?

Alex came out on the veranda with some new beers, and sat down next to her.

"Alex…" Claire started, but trailed off. She didn't know what to say, or how to say it.

He just looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

"You're my best mate…" She tried again. She took a deep breath and continued. "What if it doesn't work out?" She looked into the air, not wanting to face him. "I couldn't stand to lose a mate."

"I love you, Claire." Alex took her face in his hands, and turned her head so that she had to face him. "It's taken me fifteen years to realize, but I'm here to stay. I'm here as long as you want me. And if it doesn't work out, I'll still be your mate."

"How can you be so sure?" Claire wasn't ready to give in yet. "How can you be so sure that we'll work out?" She took a sip of her beer.

"All I know is that I love you more than I have ever loved anyone in my life. And I want us to be together. We make a good team, we've already proved that." Alex smiled at her.

"Yeah, yeah, it was pretty good." Claire smiled back at him. "But I'm sure there's room for improvement, don't you think?" She looked at him.

Alex picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, and ran into the house so fast the she knocked her good foot into the wall. "Careful, Alex!" she laughed. "I'm already broken, you don't have to make it worse!"

He dropped her on the bed, kicked his boots off, and claimed her lips with his. She was still laughing, but she quickly responded to his kiss, and started to fight with the buttons in his shirt.

"Alex, you have to help me with this, my arm's broken!" She giggled.

Alex gave her a wicked smile. "I guess that means that I'm in charge here." He kissed her again. "And I decide that we take your shirt off first!" He laughed as he started to unbutton her shirt as fast as he could, while she tried to unbutton his shirt.

"Careful with the arm." She warned him

"I won!" Alex triumphed as he pulled her shirt off.

"That's unfair!" She complained. "I only have one arm!"

"Ok, let's even the score." He pulled his shirt over his head, not wasting time on buttons. He kissed her again as he started to undo her buckle, before he unbuttoned her jeans. She eagerly helped him by kicking the jeans off her good foot, but when they came to the cast the jeans got stuck.

"Hold on, hold on." Alex tugged at the jeans. "How the hell did you get this thing on this morning?"

"Don't know." Claire giggled. "Ask Tess!"

Alex looked up at her. "Nah, I have more important things to do here, I guess we'll just have to leave it there." He kissed her again.

When they finally came up for air Claire looked down at his legs. "You're still wearing far too much clothes!"

Alex pulled her top off, and kissed her again. "Not fair!" she exclaimed, and started tugging his t-shirt. Alex lifted his arms so that she could pull it off, before he got rid of his jeans.

"Now that's better!" She laughed, as she pulled him closer and kissed him greedily. When they finally broke the kiss she whispered a last warning. "Be gentle, I'm broken!"

--

Claire was looking at Alex as he started to wake up. "You're still here!"

"Well, you were asleep on my arm, I couldn't leave." He leaned over and kissed her.

"Good thing you're awake now, you can help me get those jeans off." She tried to move her foot. "That cast weighs a bloody ton by itself, with the jeans on it must be at least two."

THE END


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